Thor
Raynor's Raiders Terran Dominion |job=Heavy assault mech |command= |crew=1 (pilot) |concattop= }} The thor is a huge and powerful terran mechanical walker. Despite the thor being smaller than the Odin, the thor is still heavily armed and armored, and known to be one of the most heavy and powerful mechanical units in the Dominion Armed Forces. Overview Named after the Norse god of thunder,Knaak, Richard A. and Naohiro Washio. "Thundergod." In StarCraft: Frontline: Volume 1, pp. 48–93. Tokyopop, August 1, 2008. ISBN 1427-80721-3. the thor is a class of siege-walker.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Armory upgrades (in English). 2010. Those in service during the Second Great War were more maneuverable than the Odin incarnation.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: Wings of Liberty, Media Blitz (in English). 2010-07-27. Design Heavy composite neosteel-ceramic armor protects the thor. The plates are modular and can be replaced easily if damaged, or exchanged for thicker versions depending on battlefield conditions. Designed to defeat high-explosive armor piercing rounds, as well as disrupt the searing beams of energy-based weapons, the thor’s plating offers unparalleled protection to the pilot and the mech’s internal systems. Its innermost layer has a heat-resistant kinetic mesh that prevents damage from shrapnel, slugs, or even sheared armor fragments. ATVX has also developed an "immortality protocol," allowing a thor to repair itself in the field as long as its hull remains intact.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Armory upgrades (in English). 2010. The thor's cockpit is pressurized and protected by a military-grade steelglass canopy, as well as thick layers of composite neosteel-ceramic armor. At its center lies the pilot´s seat, which helps prevent operator injuries through powerful inertial dampeners and a foam-padded six-point harness. Multiple gauges and screens monitor the mech’s systems, and the main holographic display projects computer-generated imagery of the terrain. Were this screen to fail, the steelglass canopy has a fully integrated heads-up-display, a navigation screen, and a basic targeting system.2014-18-12, Thor Science. Blizzard Entertainment, accessed on 2014-12-21 System The thor is equipped with different types of heavy weapons. It is armed with four "Thor's Hammer" particle accelerators (two are fired from each arm). Originally, four 250mm strike cannons resided on its back,StarCraft II Units: Thor. Blizzard Entertainment, accessed on 2010-08-15 but these have since been replaced by Punisher cannons. These fire 250mm anti-aircraft shells fitted with advanced electronics to minimize wasted shots. Their depleted uranium cores allow them to punch through the plating of heavily armored aerial targets, causing serious damage. Each shell is individually chambered by a basic auto-loading mechanism that simplifies maintenance and repairs. The cannons' rate of fire is capped to avoid malfunctions and to extend the service life of the ordnance. Bypassing the limit is not recommended, as the cannons may melt or explode. For aerial opponents, the thor is equipped with Javelin missile launchers. These are located on both sides of the steelglass canopy, and fire four small, IFF fragmentation warheads that can rip through multiple, lightly armored aerial targets on a single salvo. Due to the missiles’ small size, the thor can carry a large payload, ensuring it will be fully prepared to deal with groups of flying bogeys even in drawn-out engagements. The thor can be optionally outfitted with 330mm barrage cannons.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Armory upgrades (in English). 2010. History The thor stemmed from the Terran Dominion Thor Project, a program that resulted in the creation of the Odin. When the thor made its public debut, military analysts were stunned, and embedded UNN reporters described it as "a huge bipedal war machine armed with a dorsal artillery that wouldn't be out of place on a battleship."2015-09-18, NYCC 2015 – James Waugh’s StarCraft Field Manual Signing Schedule. Blizzplanet, accessed on 2015-09-23 Thors were being used in the field by 2502.April 6, 2010. "Timeline". StarCraft II: Heaven's Devils. Simon & Schuster (Pocket Star). pp. 311 - 323. ISBN 978-1416-55084-6. During the Second Great War, the Terran Dominion utilized the thor in defending areas such as New Folsom Prison.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: Wings of Liberty, Breakout (in English). 2010-07-27. The Odin, a particularly powerful prototype, was developed by 2503.Burns, Matt. "Collateral Damage." (May 13, 2010). Blizzard Entertainment. Collateral Damage Accessed 2010-05-16.September 27, 2011. "Timeline." StarCraft: Ghost: Spectres. Simon & Schuster (Pocket Star). pp. 393-416. ISBN 978-1439-10938-0. A Protectorate shadowguard stole intelligence on the Odin, which was later taken to Valhalla. Chief Engineer Rory Swann reverse-engineered a schematic of the thor from examining the Odin prototype. He refined a design that had millions of credits of R&D poured into it. His efforts focused on making it cheaper.Blizzard Entertainment. 2012-11-26. StarCraft II Creative Development Q&A - Part 6. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2012-11-26. The Raiders received their first thors during the attack on the UNN Studios. Game Unit Raynor's Raiders Terran Dominion |campname= |baseunit= |role=Heavy assault mech |useguns=*Thor's Hammer particle beams *250 mm Strike Cannons (WoL only) *Javelin missile launchers *Punisher Cannons |usearmor=Neosteel |energy=200 (init. 50) (Wings of Liberty only) |engyregen= |timedlife= |size= |type=*Ground *Massive *Mechanical |armortype=Armored |transcapacity= |transsize=8 |sight=11 |detect= |broodling= |costmin=300 |energycost= |costgas=200 |supply=5 |campcost= |time=60 |produced=Factory |parent= |evolvesfrom= |req=*Tech lab/Tech reactor (attached) *Armory |hotkey=T |speed=1.875 |accel=1000 |lataccel=46.0625 |decel=0 |creepbonus= |creepmultiplier= |collision=0.8125 |shield= |shieldregen= |hp=400 |hpregen= |armor=1 |gun1name=Thor's Hammer |gun1strength=30 |gun1attacks=2 |gun1ground=X |gun1air= |gun1cool=1.28 |gun1range=7 |gun1upgrd=+3 |gun2name=Javelin missiles |gun2strength=6 (+6 vs light) |gun2attacks=4 |gun2ground= |gun2air=X |gun2cool=3 |gun2range=10 |gun2upgrd=+1/+1 |gun3name=Punisher Cannons |gun3strength=24 |gun3attacks= |gun3ground= |gun3air=X |gun3cool=2 |gun3range=10 |gun3upgrd= |addons= |evolvesto= |produce= |allows= |research= |ability= |priority=20 |killscore=2000 |makescore=1000 |lostscore= |notes=The Javelin missiles have a 0.5 splash damage radius. |structure= |hero= |campaign= |npc= |cancel= |nocat= |concatbott= |concattop= }} The thor can be transported by the Hercules dropship and medivac dropships. One thor fills up the medivac's entire capacity, transforming into a cube-like shape and hanging from underneath. As of StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm, the thor can switch between Javelin missiles (which destroy light air units) and Punisher cannons (which are single-target attacks designed to take on powerful air units). Combat Roles A thor's primary role is to act as the spearhead: a big tough unit that can push past an artillery barrage or fortified positions or push into an enemy base and lead s into battle. Its other primary role is to defend allied units from air attacks with its powerful anti-air weaponry. It works well against light air units like s, but the attack is not as effective against heavily armored air units such as s. The thor is countered by range, mobility, and certain anti-armor units. It doesn't deal splash damage to ground units, therefore, it cannot effectively deal with massed units such as marines, s, and s. A popular strategy with the unit is the "thor harass" (sometimes called "thorship"), similar to the reaver harass of StarCraft. It involves pairing the thor with a medivac dropship, combining the thor's power and the mobility of the latter. Abilities Heart of the Swarm In Heart of the Swarm, the thor prioritizes air vs ground targets.Blizzard Entertainment. 2014-07-25. Heart of the Swarm Balance Update -- July 25, 2014. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2014-07-26. *High Impact Payload (E): Time 4 seconds. Removes Javelin missiles (which have an AoE attack) and equips the thor with Punisher Cannons (which hit single targets harder). This specific ability is removed in ''Legacy of the Void.Blizzard Entertainment. 2014-11-08. Legacy of the Void: Multiplayer Preview. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2014-11-09. *Explosive Payload (E): Time 4 seconds. Removes the Punisher Cannon and replaces with Javelin missiles. This ability is active by default. Upgrades Wings of Liberty Heart of the Swarm Wings of Liberty Campaign The thor can be unlocked after playing the mission "Media Blitz", and made available after Chief Engineer Rory Swann scanned the schematics of the Odin and made it less expensive to produce. Co-op Missions Thors are exclusive to Rory Swann in Co-op Missions, unlocked once he reaches Level 6. Abilities Thor vs Siege Tanks Some features that existed on the thor in previous builds led to a concern that its role was overlapping with that of the siege tank. Unlike the siege tank, the thor is an assault unit rather than a siege unit. Its ground attack has much less range than a siege tank's 120 mm cannon, so it is exposed to enemy fire while attacking.Karune. 2007-10-05. StarCraft II Q&A - Batch 16. Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2007-10-05. Another difference from the siege tank is that the thor can also function as a ground to air attacker.Karune. 2008-03-24. Karune, your PoV on "Superunits". Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2008-03-24. Quotations : See: StarCraft II Thor Quotations Development Known Thor Pilots *Sandin Forst Known Thor Variants *Blackhammer Notes *Walter Simonson is a comic book writer and artist who famously worked on the Marvel Comics title The Mighty Thor. It appears the Simonson Munitions Factory was named after him.Profile.'' Sons of the Storm. Accessed 2008-03-05. Simonson is also one of the authors of the World of Warcraft comic series. *The unit portrait resembles Chris Metzen, Blizzard's vice president of creative direction, who has used the alias "Thundergod", and "Lemmy" Kilmister. Its voice has a thick, stereotypical Austrian accent and quotes many lines from Arnold Schwarzenegger films. He also wears a Thor's hammer pendant around the neck along with a tauren marine t-shirt and its headband bears the logo from the Mercenaries 2: World In Flames video game. ]] *A new version of thor, named the "Super Thor", appears instead of the standard version in the Collector's Edition of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. It is identical in terms of gameplay. The Collector's Edition also offers a mini-thor pet for ''World of Warcraft that is capable of flight.Business Wire staff. 2010-04-08. StarCraft® II: Wings of Liberty™ Collector's Edition Announced. Business Wire. Accessed 2010-04-08. The "Super Thor" was reused in Heart of the Swarm for the Blackhammer. *In the game files the thor can be found dancing. He seems to be an expert at "doing the Robot". *In Norse mythology, Thor is the son of Odin. This is reflected in the StarCraft lore where the thor is derived from the Odin prototype. *The thor appeared as a minion in early builds of Heroes of the Storm.2014-05-21, Blizzard set out to make a StarCraft mod, and instead reinvented gaming's most popular genre. Polygon, accessed on 2014-05-22 *The thor, within the scope of Wings of Liberty, is supposed to have been developed by Swann.Blizzard Entertainment. 2012-11-26. StarCraft II Creative Development Q&A - Part 6. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2012-11-26. This contradicts Thundergod and Wings of Liberty itself, where the thor is in use by the Dominion. Blizzard has acknowledged the error as the result of two internal teams working on the same piece of lore. References Category:StarCraft II Terran units Category:Terran Vehicle Classes Category:Heroes of the Storm